South Yorkshire eating disorder service 'inadequate' - watchdog

Ellern Mede Moorgate, in Rotherham, provides specialist treatment for children and young adults

An eating disorder service in South Yorkshire has been rated as "inadequate" after inspectors found it "did not provide safe care".

Ellern Mede Moorgate, in Rotherham, provides specialist treatment for up to 12 children and young adults.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) found more than 5,000 instances where young people were physically restrained in one year.

The site said it was "working at pace" to carry out required improvements.

Ellern Mede Moorgate was inspected in January after concerns were raised about safety and the quality of care at the facility on Moorgate Road.

In its summary of findings, the CQC wrote: "The service did not provide safe care.

"The wards did not have enough nurses and reliance on agency workers was high."

Its overall rating has dropped from "requires improvement" to "inadequate", the CQC said, with the watchdog placing the service in special measures.

The move means it will be kept under close review by the CQC to ensure changes are made.

Findings of the report included:

• Staff did not always assess or manage risk well

• Workers did not always treat patients with compassion and kindness

• People felt bored and that there was little to do at the private hospital

• Admissions and discharges were not always managed well

Inspectors did find ward environments "safe and clean", with senior managers also praised for creating an "autism champion" staff post.

Alan Stephenson, CQC deputy director of operations in the North, said: "Young people told us they didn't always feel safe, which they raised with staff repeatedly.

"They also told us physical restrictions were used too often and that they'd been injured or experienced pain during these."

'Vulnerable patients'

He added: "We were also concerned that some restrictions, for example access to bedrooms during daytime hours, were used to manage behaviour rather than help people."

Kate Majid, managing director of the service, said: "Ellern Mede Moorgate is a highly specialist eating disorder service with a successful track record of caring for some of the most vulnerable and complex patients in the area.

"Whilst the nature of the care we provide is often challenging, we are very proud of the work that our devoted staff teams carry out each day to make this possible."

She added: "We have taken the feedback from CQC very seriously and are already working at pace to carry out the quality improvements required."